Hope's Peak University
by KatieMarie999
Summary: Hope's Peak University. Only the best of the best can attend, or at least that's what they thought. But the freshmen in dorm 77B are about to find out that college life is a lot weirder than they could ever have imagined. Comedy series including the entire (human) casts of all 3 Danganronpa games. The Ultimate Crossover! Ships include Hinanami, Saimatsu, Naegiri, Akanidai, and more
1. Welcome to Hope's Peak

_Hey, Katie here. Back with another story, this one I plan to leave up. Hope's Peak University, the comedic college AU we all need. It will not all be told from Kaede's POV, as I want to rotate the stories a bit to focus as much on all the other characters as possible. Spoilers are unlikely, but I guess a spoiler warning is always implied. Only characters from Danganronpa 1, 2, and 3 will be included, as I haven't seen the anime or Ultra Despair Girls yet. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Hope's Peak**

* * *

"Okay…" Kaede Akamatsu whispered through her teeth, her eyes fixed upon her cart. "Toothpaste, check. Shampoo and conditioner, check. Soap, check. And umm…" she consulted her list, "hair ties, check. That's everything."

She hoped it was everything, at least, because she would absolutely hate to have to circle back around through a sea of unfamiliar aisles. Sure, maybe a few months from now she'd know where she was going but it had already taken her nearly half an hour to find everything. And given the day, it wasn't exactly a picnic maneuvering her bulky cart through crowds of her own peers and hoping the loud squeaking of the wheel wouldn't draw their attention.

Wending her way to the front, Kaede quickly spotted the shortest line. She was definitely eager to get out of here. She loathed crowds, but it simply couldn't be helped. A harried, exhausted looking girl (Melissa, according to her nametag) was ringing up endless groceries and supplies. Kaede couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she waited, resolving privately to make sure she was a very easy customer.

Despite her frustration at the grocery store's crowd, Kaede's heart was leaping with excitement. As soon as she was out of here, she would be pulling into her dream school. Sure, she had driven seven hours to get here, but it didn't matter. Hope's Peak University offered the best of the best, as far as she was concerned. She'd been dreaming of this moment since she was a wide eyed high school junior, walking through campus on a guided tour. It had honestly looked like paradise back then.

She couldn't wait for the classes. She couldn't wait to meet her room mate and stretch out under the bright August sun between classes, just taking in the sights and sounds of the campus around her. To meet a group of brand new friends, just as excited as…

"Ohhh come on!" a voice cut through Kaede's ruminations. She blinked and looked ahead. The guy in front of her was clearly frustrated about something. "I'm definitely over 21!"

"ID, please." Melissa said in a bored sort of voice, her hand outstretched.

Rifling in his white pants pocket, the young man pulled out a card and handed it to her. She squinted at it.

"Do you… do you think I'm stupid?" Melissa asked incredulously.

"I dunno. Do you think you are?" The guy smiled impishly at her.

"This is the most obvious fake I've ever seen." Melissa said, raising an eyebrow as she read whatever was on the card. "You've photoshopped your head onto a still from Jurassic Park."

"That's not photoshop, it's just an outdated picture." Kaede was surprised at how easily this guy could lie, his grin never wavering. "And besides, dinosaurs were around way more than 21 years ago, so by default-"

"It says here that you were born in 1912." Melissa cut through him.

"So _obviously_ I'm old enough to buy this." The guy patted the box of Bud Light almost affectionately.

"Well, Kokichi, if that even is your name," Melissa said, handing him the ID with a very irritated expression, "I can sell you the jelly beans but you're going to have to put that back."

"Awww come on!" The guy called Kokichi puckered out his lip. "It's my first day at college. What kind of lame ass freshman would I be if I couldn't show up with booze?"

Melissa stared at him, her expression almost pitying. "I'm going to get my manager."

Kokichi huffed, reminding Kaede more of a petulant child than anything. "Fine. I'll put it back."

Looking dejected, Kokichi slinked past Kaede, muttering something about "the establishment." Kaede rolled her eyes and strolled forward.

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with that," she said, placing her thankfully few items on the belt.

"You'd be surprised." Melissa deadpanned. "And I think my manager's lost more faith in humanity than I have at this point."

Kaede gave her an indulgent smile. "You go to Hope's Peak?"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't go there if it was the last college… anywhere." Melissa said. "I graduate next year and I'm getting out of here."

"What's so bad about it?" Kaede asked, slightly stung by this.

Melissa looked a bit apologetic; possibly she had noticed the hurt expression on Kaede's face. "It's just not for me, you know. You hear a lot of weird stuff about it," she shrugged. "Like people driving down here doing donuts in the parking lots when it snows, setting off fireworks on New Years, and a lot of weird parties. That kind of thing." She nodded to Kokichi, now in a different aisle with the same package of Bud Light, as though expecting to get a different result. "And jokers like him are all over the place."

Kaede couldn't argue with that. She'd even seen evidence of it on her campus tour. But she liked being around interesting people. It was one of the reasons she'd been so keen to attend.

"Well, to each their own." Kaede shrugged. "Anyway, what do I owe you?"

* * *

After the traffic and the misleading directions from Google maps, driving into the campus was like driving into a dream. Kaede couldn't believe this day was finally here. Emerging from her car in the dorm parking lot, she stretched her arms and legs again, feeling very sick of sitting down, and yawned widely. She wished she could unpack tomorrow, but she needed her stuff to sleep tonight!

Taking a moment's procrastination, Kaede stared around at her surroundings. Hope's Peak University had a gorgeous campus in the summer. Off in the distance, the classroom buildings towered, high and modern in design. While the school wasn't exactly a miniature city, like some other campuses, there were a few stores and restaurants that Kaede could see from this angle, including a Pizza Hut and a Wendy's. Dorm 77B was wide, but not particularly high. Lots of these dorm buildings littered the campus, red brick fixtures with large glass panels revealing beautiful sunlit hallways. She remembered that she had been staying at a dorm across campus on her tour, but she'd specifically asked to room here. It was a slightly nicer area of campus, and with less people living there, she had the opportunity to get to know everyone, a sad impossibility with the massive dorms closer to the main buildings. A sidewalk cut through a lovely field, where a group of students, upperclassmen by the looks of them, were playing Ultimate Frisbee and a chattering group of girls sat down on a blanket.

"Can Gonta carry anything?"

Kaede jumped, whirling around to face a massive chest. Looking up, a wild behemoth stood before her, a long mane of brown hair around his perfectly muscular shoulders. But the look on this young man's face was anything but intimidating. He wore a small, friendly smile and extended a massive hand.

"Oh, Gonta sorry he make you jump!" he said, putting up both hands in a placating gesture. "It just… Gonta finish unpacking and want to help other new friends move."

"That's okay." Kaede sighed, trying to soothe her heart rate. "My fault for not paying attention. I'm Kaede."

"My name Gonta." Gonta patted his chest, his friendly smile widening. "Gonta trying to be a gentleman so Gonta want to help."

Kaede couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the guy. English clearly wasn't his first language, and with such a sweet and innocent personality, she hoped college life wouldn't be too intense.

"I'd love the help, thank you." Kaede said as she opened her back seat. Her bed sheets immediately tumbled out but she caught them before they touched the asphalt. "These wouldn't fit in my bag, do you mind holding onto them while I get out my suitcases?"

"Gonta be honored!" Gonta reached out and took the sheets from her.

It didn't take long to extricate the suitcases from the back seat and the trunk and, with Gonta's help, it only took one trip to get all of Kaede's things into the dorm. Despite carrying two full suitcases and rolling a third behind him, Gonta still insisted on opening the door for her. Kaede thought this was very sweet, if not a bit impractical, and made sure to avoid rolling her suitcase too close to his foot.

The dorm already seemed full to the brim with new students who looked right at first thing that greeted Kaede was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen area down the hall. A shorter student, wideset with a chef's hat on, was stirring something that was bubbling on the stove. To her left, a girl and guy sang cheerfully (if a bit off key) on a karaoke machine, a small smattering of students watching them with amusement. Close to the door, a girl played a video game on the small TV and was so engrossed, she didn't even acknowledge them. On the couch next to her, a guy who had to be no older than 16 sat cross legged, a laptop propped on his lap, clicking away with his tongue between his teeth.

"Gonta get here early," said Gonta, that friendly smile never wavering. "Gonta get to meet everyone here and find out names."

"Oh?" Kaede said. "All of them?"

"Gonta remember names well," he nodded his head at the girl playing the video game. "That Chiaki Nanami. She good at games."

Chiaki gave no indication that she had hear this, her eyes still glued to the screen.

"And that Chihiro Fujisaki." Gonta continued. Chihiro looked up at them for a moment to smile before looking back at whatever was on his laptop. "And on karaoke machine is Ibuki Mioda and Leon Kuwata."

Ibuki and Leon sang on, clearly unable to hear them from that distance. As they walked through the room, Gonta pointed everyone out and provided Kaede with, at the very least, their name. She knew she wouldn't remember all of them right away, but hopefully she would know them all before the year ended. Finally, Kaede and Gonta arrived at the elevator.

"Where Kaede staying?"

"207A." Kaede said right away, having memorized this fact ages ago.

"That on second floor." Gonta said as they squeezed into the elevator with all of Kaede's things and a very disgruntled looking Toko Fukawa.

He tapped the button and the elevator rose rather slowly until it reached its destination. Kaede could tell immediately that the entire floor was devoted to girls' dorms, which she found reassuring. She definitely didn't want to run into any guys while wearing nothing but a towel!

"Men not allowed in ladies dorm rooms between eleven pm and eight am." Gonta clarified. "But it only six pm now so Gonta allowed to help you move in."

Kaede remembered that rule. She knew it was instated for their safety and privacy, but she did think it a bit restrictive. Not that she was planning to spend the night with a guy anytime soon, if at all.

Dorm 207A was situated down the hall and to the left of the elevator. Kaede saw her name on the door, along with her roommate's, who she had only spoken to once over email. She knocked tentatively and her roommate threw open the door.

"I told you, I don't _want_ your help!" she snapped at Gonta, apparently not even seeing Kaede standing in front of him.

"Gonta understand but Gonta not help you, he help Kaede." Gonta clarified.

The girl's gaze fell on Kaede, who started feeling extremely self conscious. She was a lot shorter than her, with very long blonde hair held up in pigtails and a sour expression on her youthful features. Kaede knew her name was Hiyoko Saionji, but knew very little about her other than that. She'd seemed perfectly friendly over email but it was clear now that this girl was _not_ to be messed with.

"So…" said the girl, finally looking over at Kaede. "You're my roommate."

"Yep."

"You don't play loud music right?"

"Umm… no."

"Or sing?"

"Not usually."

"Or stay up until 5 am?"

"No."

"Get up at 5 am?"

"Heavens no."

Hiyoko stared at her through narrowed eyes. Kaede had the distinct impression that she was withholding judgment on her.

"So… can I come in?"

Hiyoko took a step back wordlessly to permit Kaede to enter, pointing to the left bed. "That one's yours," she said as if Kaede wouldn't have been able to figure out that her bed was the one with no sheets on it.

The dorm was fairly roomy, with a desk on either side so both girls could work on homework, or whatever they needed to work on, in peace. A large, open window showed a spectacular view of the field nearby. The evening sun gave the room a warm sort of glow, especially since Hiyoko's bed had been decked out in pink and orange. Kaede through it was cute, though this girl's attitude made her feel like it would be dangerous to point that out. Hiyoko climbed onto her bed and sat down, watching them unpack like a small and very cute hawk.

"Do you listen to music to go to sleep?" Hiyoko asked as Kaede got out her mp3 player.

"Sometimes."

Hiyoko sighed dramatically. "Can you sleep without it?"

"Does it bother you?"

"Duh." Hiyoko crossed her arms. "It keeps me awake."

"It's fine. I don't need it." Kaede said, placing her mp3 player on the nightstand.

"Well, Gonta think room looks very nice!" Gonta chirped cheerfully a few minutes later, when everything was unpacked.

"Thanks. I think so too. It's got a nice aesthetic, since we both like pink." Kaede smiled at Hiyoko, who didn't return the gesture.

"Sure, if you like _that_ shade," she said before opening her laptop and completely ignoring Kaede.

Kaede had the impression that she and Hiyoko weren't going to be best friends, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to get along! Suppressing the urge to question her further, Kaede decided to leave her dorm for now so she could talk to a few people. She took one step out of her dorm and was nearly knocked over by the girl from the karaoke machine.

"Sorry, sorry!" she squealed, grabbing Kaede's arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "That's Ibuki's fault!"

Did _everyone_ talk in third person here?

"You're Katie right? I heard Gonta when you were going by and I never forget a name!" Ibuki continued.

"You're close, it's Kaede."

"Ka. Eh. Day." Ibuki said slowly, putting her fingers to her temples. "Ooookay, Ibuki is gonna remember that!"

"Can you move?" asked a small girl in a witch's hat, looking up at Kaede and Ibuki. "I really have to go to the bathroom."

"Sure!" Ibuki grabbed Kaede's arm and yanked her forward to allow the other girl to pass. "That's Himiko, by the way, she's a mage!"

"I use _real_ magic." Himiko said before entering the bathroom.

"Wow, real magic?" Gonta gasped, clearly impressed.

"You know people here already?" Kaede asked.

"They're kinda hard to forget. Everyone's so cool!" Ibuki giggled. "Ibuki picked the right place to stay!"

"Uhh yeah well… Kaede wants to meet everyone." Kaede said with a grin, deciding to play along. "Can Ibuki show me around?"

"Ibuki can!" And, without loosening her grip on Kaede's arm, she pulled Kaede forward. "Hey Mahiru, Kirumi!"

"Who are they?" Kaede asked.

"They're the RAs, of course. You have to know who they are!" Ibuki seemed to have spotted one of them because she made a beeline to a girl with bright red hair and copious amounts of freckles. "Mahiru, you know Kaede?"

Mahiru looked down at a clipboard in her hand and made a note. "You're not going to cause any trouble, are you?"

Why did everyone assume Kaede was going to cause trouble like some kind of delinquent?

"I hope not." Kaede said. "I'm really excited to be here."

"Well, it's nice to have you here." Mahiru said, though she looked a bit frustrated. "Although I'm probably going to forget your name so remind me again until I get it, okay? There are a lot of names to remember."

"That's okay." Kaede smiled Mahiru. Mahiru's smile looked frustrated, but Kaede figured that she had to be pretty busy today.

"Okay so now you know one of our RAs, the other is… hmm, I don't know where she got to." Ibuki glanced around the hallway. "That's okay, there's time. Come downstairs, there's tons of people!"

Kaede found herself being forcefully led downstairs. Gonta, having spotted a frazzled looking Himiko attempting to drag a trunk down the hall, remained on the floor to help her.

In the elevator was a tall, rather wiry guy with crossed arms and a sour expression. He didn't even look at them when they entered it.

"Hellooo, Byakuya!" Ibuki chirped. "Byakuya Togami, he's one of the boys' RAs."

Byakuya nodded in response to his name, but gave no other indication that he had heard her. It wasn't as if he was intimidating, that was probably the wrong word to use, but Kaede had the sense that he was looking down at her and Ibuki (and, indeed, all the students).

The elevator dinged and opened. Kaede and Ibuki stepped out into the common area and looked around. Someone else was singing at the karaoke machine, someone Kaede didn't recognize. The guy called Leon was relaxing on the couch, his feet on the coffee table. The girl playing the video game hadn't moved from her seat, nor had the guy on the laptop. Another guy was sitting next to Leon, his eyes fixed on Chiaki playing her game with a somewhat bored expression. He looked familiar to Kaede somehow.

"Shuichi?"

The guy looked up, visibly surprised. He stared at her.

"Kaede?"

"You know each other?" Ibuki looked very excited about this, for some reason.

"We went to the same high school." Kaede said.

She couldn't believe he was here. It's not as if they were friends, despite being in the same year. He was always quiet, a bit withdrawn. He had friends, but he didn't get involved in extracurricular activities. Not like Kaede, who was part of more societies and clubs than she could count. Still, she had definitely worked with him in a group project once and she never forgot a name.

"Uhh… hi. I wish I knew we were going the same direction." Shuichi said, not quite meeting her eye. "Maybe we could have carpooled."

"That would have been nice, yeah." Kaede said. "But I mean… I bet we had a lot of stuff too."

"Right. Yeah, maybe not." Shuichi smiled in a friendly sort of way. "Met Ibuki already, have you?"

"Everyone knows Ibuki!" Ibuki cheered, punching the air with a clenched fist.

"Hey," said Leon, winking at Kaede. "What's going on?"

Kaede smiled. "Big day, I guess."

"Yeah, that's why I got here so early." Leon stretched his arms above his head and buried himself further into the couch cushions. "Got all that stuff over with. If you're done, you should sit down." He patted the couch next to him.

Ibuki seemed to take that as an invitation to plop herself down uncomfortably close to him. Apparently the girl didn't have much of a personal bubble. Kaede seated herself on the ottoman next to the coffee table. Chiaki and Chihiro looked up from their respective screens, apparently sensing that a conversation was inevitable. Or maybe Chiaki had beaten her game and was looking for something else to do.

"You're all freshmen?" Shuichi asked, more to make conversation than anything. "Do you uhh… do you have majors?"

"Music," said Ibuki. "Ibuki is gonna learn to play ALL the instruments and become a one-woman band!"

"Oh, that's my major as well." Kaede smiled, glad that she already knew one of her classmates. "I play piano, but I'd really like to learn more music theory, you know?"

"No way!" Leon grinned. "I'm music too? If you guys," he nodded to the others, "are music too, we should get a jam session going."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm criminal justice." Shuichi said, though he looked less than pleased about it. "For now, at least. I haven't made a final decision."

"Ooh, don't break the rules in front of this guy!" Ibuki reached over Leon and patted Shuichi's knee. "He's gonna lock you up!"

"That's not… no, I'm not one of those stickler for the rules type, not really." Shuichi shook his head. "But I've always been really interested in being a detective."

"Like Nancy Drew?" Chiaki asked. It was the first time Kaede had heard her speak.

"Not exactly." Shuichi smiled at her; it seemed that her gentler tone made him a bit more comfortable. "But I guess kind of like her."

"I've got the whole game series on my computer upstairs." Chiaki said, nodding toward the ceiling. "Let me know if you want to practice with them."

Shuichi shrugged. "I'm not sure that's real detective work."

"No, but I always find that playing a game helps me learn things faster." Chiaki gave him a warm smile. "But you don't have to answer me right away. Just let me know if you ever want to."

"What's your major?" Leon asked, looking slightly disgruntled at being ignored.

"Simulation and game design." Chiaki replied. "I can't see myself doing anything but make games."

"Ooooh, you could make a game where you play guitar!" Ibuki leaned forward. "If you need someone who knows how to play guitar, Ibuki can!"

"That sounds like Guitar Hero." Chiaki said. "But I'll let you know if I get any ideas that require a guitar."

Kaede opened her mouth to offer her help as a pianist when the door to the outside burst open, banging loudly on the wall. And there, in the doorway, was Kokichi, his grape colored eyes alight with mischief. Thankfully, the "establishment" at the grocery store clearly hadn't sold him the beer.

"I have arrived!" he announced, opening his arms wide as if expecting a hug.

No one gave him a hug in the next two seconds, so he put his hands on his hips. He wasn't carrying any luggage, making Kaede wonder if he had arrived earlier in the day to unpack. Or maybe he saved all his money on the beer he wasn't legally permitted to buy and hadn't brought anything.

"You… live here?" Kaede asked, hoping against hope that he had just blundered into the wrong building.

"For the next almost-a-year!" Kokichi strutted in. He looked like a stick figure poorly attempting a muscular football player's swagger.

Despite the third person speak and the colorful cast of characters Kaede had walked in on at Hope's Peak University, she had figured that this year would be a typical freshman year at college. She'd spend it getting used to coursework, hanging out with all her new friends, and cramming in the library late at night. But with Kokichi living in such close quarters, Ibuki cheering about who-knew-what, and all the other strange people she'd met, Kaede knew how this year was going to go now.

"Well," she muttered, watching Kokichi trip spectacularly over Chiaki's game system and land directly on his face, "at least it won't be boring."


	2. Gaming Buddies

_I'm back! I noticed this story didn't get much traction but that's okay, I enjoyed writing it so I wanted to continue anyway. I have so many running jokes and little things going on that I wanted to reveal more and more. I've written out so much about roommates and majors and stuff so I'm really excited to keep on._

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**Chapter 2: Gaming Buddies**

* * *

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-**

Chiaki Nanami reached out of her warm cocoon of blankets to shut off the alarm. Well, more accurately, to press the snooze button. In the second or two her arm was exposed, she felt goosebumps shoot up and down her skin.

"Mmmmf," Chiaki groaned, pulling her blankets over her head and retracting her now cold arm back into her burrow.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

Hadn't she _just_ turned that off? Chiaki rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock next to her bed. Slowly, the numbers came into view. 9:07 am. Approximately three hours before she felt fully awake. Her class wouldn't start until 11 am. Sure, she could sleep some more, but she had no idea where her class was located and, for once, she wanted breakfast.

She dragged herself out of bed, feeling like she weighed an extra hundred pounds. She was barely conscious as she used the bathroom, brushed her hair and teeth, and washed her face. Before walking downstairs, she grabbed a bagel from a bag next to her room and stuck it in her mouth. She hadn't even taken a full bite before she entered the elevator.

For a moment, she stopped and looked up. She had to look up because the guy on the elevator had to be over half a foot taller than her. He smiled jovially, fingers clasped on the handle of a steaming mug of coffee that he raised, almost like he was toasting her. But that wasn't the thing that concerned Chiaki, not really. She knew she that the floor above her was the boys' dorms. It was this guy in particular. Friendly though he may look, she had never met anyone her age with almost completely white hair before. Well, she supposed he was a bit older than her, but even so, he couldn't be older than 25.

"Hey," said the guy. His voice was higher than she expected. "Going for a look?" He nodded to the bagel protruding from her mouth.

Chiaki reached up and took the bagel from her mouth. There were teeth marks on its smooth surface in a perfect little circular shape, a product of the year and a half of braces she'd endured in high school.

"Hello," Chiaki said. She didn't feel like talking.

"I don't think we've met," the guy continued. "I'm Nagito Komaeda." He took a sip of coffee. The smell of it was beginning to give Chiaki a stomachache.

Not wanting to be rude, Chiaki gave him a small, fully false smile. "I'm Chiaki Nanami," she said without further comment.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Chiaki made a beeline to the kitchenette, where she immediately opened the cabinet, having placed a small stock of teabags there the day before, as a kind gesture. The box was unopened when she reached it and she pulled one out. She shut the cabinet door, turned around…

"So where are you off to?" Nagito asked casually, leaning against the wall right behind her.

Chiaki gasped in surprise, staring at this strange guy. Was he hitting on her? The unbroken eye contact was really disconcerting. Sure, guys had shown interest in her but they usually backed off when they actually got to know her…

"I… class." Chiaki filled the kettle with water, giving herself an excuse to turn away from Nagito. "Just class."

"You look tired," Nagito said. His tone was pleasant, which gave Chiaki little comfort.

"I'm not a morning person," Chiaki admitted, placing the kettle on the stove.

When she turned back around, Nagito still stood there, sipping his coffee. Did he know he was being weird? Did he care? The kitchen was pretty open, so it wasn't like Nagito could try anything creepy with dozens of witnesses, but this whole thing made Chiaki feel very uneasy. She wished she'd brought a book or her 3DS so she could zone out and ignore him.

"First day?" Nagito asked.

"Isn't it everyone's first day of classes?" Chiaki countered.

"I never go to class on Mondays."

"Why not?"

Nagito gave her a look that said plainly that he was sort of sizing her up before deciding whether or not to answer. He seemed to decide against it, smiling warmly instead and taking another sip of coffee. Chiaki felt a pang of unease as the kettle began to whistle.

"That's probably too hot to drink," Nagito said most unhelpfully as Chiaki removed the kettle from the stove and poured the hot water into a mug.

"I wasn't planning to drink it this hot." Chiaki said, more to her cup than to Nagito.

After pouring the hot water over her teabag, Chiaki went to the refrigerator to get a carton of milk.

"Why add stuff?"

"What?"

"To your tea." Nagito nodded to her steeping tea. "It's best fresh."

"You mean unflavored?"

"Milk and sugar, no one needs those." Nagito shook his head emphatically. "Nothing wakes you up more than fresh coffee or tea with no additives."

"Well to each their own, I guess." Chiaki added the milk to her tea, determined not to be dissuaded. "Besides, this should cool it down."

"At what cost, Chiaki? At what cost?" Nagito broke his eye contact with her at last in favor of closing his eyes dramatically.

"You seem really passionate about this." Chiaki grasped a canister of sugar and tipped a large quantity into her mug. "But it's my tea, not yours."

"Nagito, what are you doing?"

Someone else had spoken this time, thankfully breaking off the completely pointless conversation about hot drinks. Another guy, someone closer to Chiaki's own age, stood there with his arms crossed, staring at Nagito with an almost judgmental expression.

"I'm making conversation, Hajime." Nagito gestured to Chiaki. "What's wrong with that?"

"Is he following you?" The guy named Hajime aimed this question at Chiaki.

"Maybe a little," Chiaki said honestly.

"See?" Hajime sighed. "I told you you can't follow people around and interrogate them."

"I wasn't interrogating anyone." Nagito looked like a child in the midst of being admonished. Even his bottom lip began to stick out a bit. "I'm not allowed to make friends?"

The way Hajime was talking to Nagito, Chiaki was almost under the impression the two of them had known each other for a long time. It did give her some small comfort that she wasn't the only person Nagito had, evidently innocently, followed around.

"She looks tired, Nagito." Hajime tapped his foot in an impatient sort of way. "If you want to talk to her later, you can talk to her when she's more awake."

Nagito shrugged noncommittally and walked off. Chiaki turned to Hajime.

"Is this something he always does?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Hajime. "I met him two days ago."

"Then how could you tell he was following me?"

Hajime smiled. "Well, he spent the first two days following _me_, so..." He shrugged held out his hand. "Hajime Hinata. Listen, if Nagito gets weird again, just let me know. His roommate's a family friend."

Chiaki shook his hand, smiling warmly at him and telling him her name.

"Well I'll let you know, then," she said. "Thanks. Though he really wasn't too bad."

"Give him an inch, he'll take a whole mile." Hajime shook his head. "But I felt kinda bad for him too. Kaito, his roommate, says he doesn't really have any friends."

"Oh." Chiaki looked over and spotted Nagito talking to Ibuki. "Well don't be too hard on him then."

"I just want to make sure he makes friends, not creeps people out." Hajime smiled at her. "Anyway, let me know if he bugs anyone. Me or Kaito. Kaito's the guy with the purple hair."

"I thought that was Kokichi."

"Ah yeah." Hajime rolled his eyes. "Kaito's the _sane_ guy with purple hair. Anyway, I guess I'll see you around, Chiaki."

"I guess you will," Chiaki said warmly as Hajime walked away.

She returned to her warm, sweet cup of tea, feeling much more awake. Nagito was definitely more effective than an alarm clock, that was for sure.

* * *

Hajime Hinata hadn't _expected_ to spend his very first two days in college being followed around by what had to be the friendliest stalker ever. Nagito had peppered him with questions about his major (Law, at least that was Hajime's intended major), his family, his friends at home, his home, his pets, his love life (Hajime had declined to provide this information), his shoe size…

Maybe Nagito didn't have the faintest idea how he was coming across. That certainly seemed to be the case. He'd definitely given off a weird vibe, but not a _creepy_ weird vibe. Just a very honest, insatiably curious weird vibe. Regardless, telling Nagito to talk to someone else had clearly backfired, if the uncomfortable expression on Chiaki's face had been any indication.

Hajme glanced over at Chiaki again, who smiled at him when their eyes met. She was pretty cute. If Nagito was hitting on her…

He looked at Nagito, now engaged in conversation with Ibuki. At least she was responding to him with enthusiasm. Crisis averted, right?

He hoped so.

His English 101 class would be meeting in two hours so he had some time to kill. Maybe he could call his mom? No, he'd only been gone for three days. That would come off as really childish. Besides, she had enough to do at work.

"Hey, are you 21?"

Hajime turned around to face Kokichi, looking hopeful. "No," he said. "And even if I were, I'm not buying you booze, that's illegal."

"It's only _illegal_," Kokichi put the word in air quotes, "if you get caught."

"I'm pretty sure it's illegal whether anyone catches you or not."

Kokichi glared at him. "Fine. But don't ask me for some when I get it."

"I _really_ wasn't going to." Hajime walked in the opposite direction, very keen on escaping this conversation. "He's not 21 either," he said when he saw Kokichi approach Kaito out of the corner of his eye.

So _this _was college life. He'd seen the movies but he hadn't thought they would be realistic. No wild parties with drunk people dancing on tables (admittedly, that seemed to be more of a fraternity thing), just tired people goofing off in the common areas. He was expecting the emotional breakdowns once the workload got intense, but as it was the first day, few of his fellow students had even stepped into a classroom yet. He knew he would need to leave early to figure out how to get to his own first class, but not _this_ early.

"You there!" Someone's loud voice pierced the low murmurs of voices in the common room.

Hajime turned around and spotted someone walking over to him, his form so erect that he looked like he was wearing some kind of brace, his thick eyebrows crossed low over his eyes. Hajime had never seen anyone like him before, and he was already feeling slightly intimidated when this strange person finally reached him.

"I'm sorry that I didn't introduce myself to you last night," the stranger extended his hand. Hajime took it and immediately had his hand thrust up and down in what had to be the firmest handshake he'd ever gotten. "My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but you may call me Taka. I'm one of your RAs. I must have missed you yesterday while I was helping everyone move in." Taka continued to shake his hand as he spoke, staring into Hajime's eyes unblinkingly.

"Uhh, hi," Hajime said in a tone he hoped wouldn't come across as timid or nervous. "I'm Hajime Hinata. I'm in room-"

"304B!" Taka finished his sentence, bellowing far louder than anyone else in the room. "I recognize your name. Did you move in all right? Do you still need help getting situated?"

"Uhh… no." Hajime was relieved when Taka finally let go of his hand. "I'm all situated, thanks."

Taka immediately thrust a pamphlet into Hajime's chest. "Be sure to read this thoroughly and follow everything, and we should all have a wonderful year!"

Hajime looked down at the pamphlet, which appeared to have the rules neatly typed onto it. "Are you… carrying these around?"

"Of course!" Taka pointed at him, his finger an inch from his nose. "We can't have a productive year if no one knows how to behave in the dorms and on campus! As RA, it is my duty to make sure everyone is aware of the expectations the faculty has imposed upon them!"

"Oh," Hajime scanned the list, which contained 48 items. "Right, yeah."

"If you have any questions about life at Hope's Peak University, how to find your classes, or any other concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!" Taka smiled widely. "I want to make sure that I am always approachable and always available to help you with anything you need, however we do have a second RA, Byakuya Togami. So if you can't locate me, look for him!"

"I met him, actually," Hajime said.

"Excellent! Well, if you will excuse me, I will seek out everyone to whom I haven't spoken. It was nice to meet you, Hajime!"

Hajime gave him a weak smile. As Taka walked past, he clapped Hajime on the back, causing him to stumble forward in surprise.

"You there!" Taka bellowed, his attention now on Nagito. "I don't believe we've met!"

Hajime decided not to hang around and watch Taka attempt to figure out Nagito's deal, so he decided to take a walk outside in the warm summer air. It wouldn't last very long, he was sure of that, so he wanted to soak in as much of the nice weather as possible.

He opened the door, took one step forward, and nearly bumped into a short blonde girl in pigtails. The girl huffed.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, pushing past him and entering the dorm.

"Uhh… sorry," Hajime called back, but the girl made no indication that she'd heard him.

Hajime had grown up in a small town, so going to a university of this size was already a difficult adjustment. He already knew he wouldn't be a partier; that just wasn't in his nature. But still… what sort of niche would he fit in?

"Hey hey," came a voice from behind him.

Hajime turned around to find Chiaki hurrying over with a thermos in one hand and a bagel in the other.

"Sorry, I just saw you walking out and I thought it would be harder to figure out where I am on campus without someone to walk with," Chiaki said, smiling warmly at him. "Unless you'd rather be alone."

"No, I don't mind," Hajime said quite truthfully. "It'd be nice to get lost with someone."

They walked in silence for a while, simply enjoying the companionship. It was a bit early for the courtyard to be filled with people, but they saw a few people tossing frisbees here and there. The large buildings, seemingly containing their classrooms, loomed overhead, but Hajime wasn't worried. He'd been an honor student in high school.

"So where are you from?" Chiaki asked after a few quiet moments.

"Near Denver," Hajime replied. "It was a long drive."

"I've never been that far out before," Chiaki said, taking a sip of tea out of her thermos. "What's it like?"

It felt nice to tell Chiaki about his hometown. Hajime felt at ease talking to her. He told her about his mother, his old school, his favorite hangouts. It was enough to make him miss it a bit. Not too much, but a little bit. Then again, it was his decision to move east for college.

"What about you?" Hajime said finally as they were walking into the main campus area. "Where are you from?"

"Virginia," Chiaki said simply. "Not too far south. But it still took Chihiro and me an hour to get here."

"Chihiro?"

"My little brother." Chiaki smiled fondly. "He's three years younger but we've been in the same grade since middle school."

"Sounds rough," Hajime said.

Chiaki thought about this for a second. "Maybe a little. Yes, I guess it's not always fun to have to share my accomplishments, but I figure it's similar to having a twin. Besides, he and I are really close."

They stopped talking for a moment to look around at their surroundings. Now, the campus was starting to get crowded. Students walked to and fro, trying not to bump into each other. The freshmen looked incredibly confused, and older students weren't too accommodating. Chiaki and Hajime peered around at the buildings. There was one for PE right next to them, and a large building that seemed to be labeled as some sort of science center. They wished they'd paid better attention to the layout.

"Well," Chiaki said, sounding a bit timid, "I think I'm a little early. But there's some outdoor seating and I have my laptop with me. When is your class?"

"Eleven," Hajime replied.

"Oh, then…" Chiaki gestured to an empty table across the street, "do you want to play Overwatch?"

Hajime looked at the table. It was definitely tempting.

"Uhh," he shrugged. "Okay. How do you play?"

Chiaki's eyes seemed to light up. "Oh, I can show you!" She just about hopped across the street in her excitement, reaching the table well before Hajime caught up and yanked her laptop out of her bag.

Hajime put his things down next to him on the bench and watched as Chiaki opened her laptop, turned it on, and extricated a controller from her bag. Then, as she was entering her password, her face fell slightly.

"Actually," she said slowly, "I don't want to make you do anything. So you don't _have_ to play. If you'd rather just get to your class. It's okay."

It took a moment for Hajime to realize why Chiaki's demeanor had changed, and his heart sank. Games were clearly a major interest for her, and it seemed she'd had to deal with people who were less than enthusiastic. Had they complained to her?

"I definitely want to play," he said firmly. "It sounds awesome. Besides, we're in the same dorm, right? I might as well get to know as many people as I can." He sat down on the bench. "So give me the rundown. What's Overwatch about?"

Chiaki's face lit up again and she began to excitedly explain the mechanics, story, and characters. Hajime wasn't much of a gamer, though he did have a few games he liked at home, but Chiaki's excitement for them made him think that, perhaps, he hadn't given them a fair shot.

Or maybe it was simply Chiaki's pretty smile that drew him in. Regardless, he had never found games more interesting.

* * *

_So I actually sent a way later chapter of this fic to be reviewed by my creative writing class, a fic involving Hajime, Chiaki, and Nagito sometime during the winter. They loved it! So I'm definitely going to be adding it to this as it goes on._

_I also just changed the category because I realized that the Danganronpa fics were mostly concentrated to this particular category. So I hope more people will find it!_

_Don't forget to leave a review!_

_~Katie_


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